


a stop... and a start

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Het, Romance, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 16:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14453424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: A rainy night, a long drive, two tired NCIS agents and only one room at the inn.





	a stop... and a start

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a 500 piece for NCIS drabble. Hah!

"Nick!" 

Nick jumped at the sound of Ellie's voice, blinking quickly, the road ahead coming back into focus. "I'm ok," he said, surprised at how slurred his voice was and Ellie snorted. 

"You're falling asleep." He opened his mouth to deny it; she didn’t let him, lifted her phone instead. "Look, it says there's a motel a mile ahead. Let's pull in, get some rest." 

Nick threw her a quick glance, lifting one eyebrow. "You trying to get me into bed, Bishop?" 

She rolled her eyes, shook her head. "You wish." He grinned but otherwise didn’t touch that one, it being a touch too close to the truth. "It’s been a long couple of days and we have a couple more hours driving ahead of us... more in this weather.” She wrinkled her nose as she stared out at the driving rain which had already added at least an hour on to their journey home. “We both need some sleep... besides, I already texted McGee and got him to tell Gibbs." 

A sheepish little smile played around her lips and he gave in to the inevitable, flicking on the turn signal. "I got a bag in the trunk," he admitted. She looked surprised at that, which he found cute. Then again, he found most things she did cute, which he could never, ever tell her. "Change of clothes, some toiletries... I'll lend you a spare t-shirt." He shrugged. “Pays to be prepared, Bishop.”

Ellie snickered. "Never pictured you for a Boy Scout," and yeah, he didn't touch that one either. 

Of course, mockery having a way of being catching, when they stood in front of the reception desk, there was only one double room available. Nick inhaled deeply, closed his eyes so it was a surprise when he heard Ellie's voice, accompanied by the sound of her hand hitting the counter. "We'll take it." The kid behind the desk smirked as he swiped her credit card and Ellie gave Nick a wan smile. For all he’d been the one falling asleep at the wheel, she was the one who suddenly looked wrecked and she sounded it when she spoke. "I just can't face sitting in that car anymore. We'll make it work, right?" 

As if he could refuse her anything when she looked at him like that. 

Turned out the bed was big enough for three people and Ellie sighed happily when she saw it. Grabbing the ridiculously overpriced emergency toiletry bag that they'd sold her behind the desk ("Gibbs will sign the expense sheet," she'd said with crossed fingers) she'd inclined her head towards the bathroom. "You want the first shower?" 

Again with the hopeful look and he knew just how to answer. "Go for it." Her smile only got brighter when he added, "I saw a vending machine across the courtyard... I'll go get us some snacks." The smile she gave him in response to that was brighter than the freaking sun and he busied himself with finding the t-shirt he’d promised her and throwing it on the bed. Which promptly gave him thoughts of throwing her on the bed so he beat a hasty retreat to the vending machine. 

“You can do this, Torres,” he muttered to himself as he fed money into the machine and picked their snacks, not concerned about looking like a crazy person talking to himself. After all, anyone who was out on a night like this had to have a little bit of crazy running through them. “It’s a big ass bed, plenty of space. No need to be worried about sharing with your co-worker.” Even, his subconscious reminded him, if your co-worker happened to be smoking hot, with big brown eyes and the sweetest smile he’d ever seen and she was going to be wearing his clothes. 

Nick groaned and just about stopped himself from banging his head against the vending machine, wondering if they should have kept driving after all. 

He took his sweet time making his selection, the better to give Ellie time to shower. Because there was no way he wanted to be in the room when she did, able to imagine the water pouring over her naked skin...

And yes, he did bang his head against the vending machine when his thoughts moved in that direction. 

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered as he made his way back, doing his best Gibbs impression. “You’re a grown man, not some horny teenager, and Ellie is your friend and your colleague. Get it together.” 

He took a deep breath and put his game face on before he let himself back into the room. The shower was still going so he didn’t call out, just spilled the snacks on the bed, toed off his shoes and made himself comfortable. Clicking through television channels, he found baseball highlights and settled in. Only a couple of minutes later, the shower shut off and he gave her a couple of minutes before calling out to her to let her know he was back, just in case the television wasn’t clue enough. He didn’t want her walking out there in just a towel or anything. 

Really. 

“You’d better have left me some hot water, Bishop.” 

Her response was instant. “You’d better have left me some food.” 

He grinned even though he knew she couldn’t see him. Maybe because she couldn’t see him. “Get out here and find out,” he countered. “You decent in there yet?” 

There was a pause and it went on longer than he would have expected. 

“Bishop?” 

“Decent... might be pushing it.” She sounded awkward, hesitant. “Your shirt’s not exactly long.” 

It was in no way Nick’s fault that he was instantly imagining Ellie in his t-shirt, hem just barely reaching the top of her thighs, her long legs exposed to his gaze. Not his fault at all.

Still, he wasn’t going to be that guy, wasn’t going to say anything about it, didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than she obviously sounded. It was one thing to try to push her buttons in the bullpen, on the job. There it was banter, where Ellie gave as good as she got. Here, it would be a dick move to pull, crossing a line he had no intention of crossing. 

Instead, he swung his legs off the bed, stood up and faced away from the bathroom door. “My back’s to the door,” he told her. “Come out and get into bed... I won’t turn around til it’s safe.” There was another long silence. “I promise,” he added and only then did he hear the doorknob turn, hear the door open slowly like she was peeking her head out to check if he was on the level. 

Not turning around managed to be both the hardest and easiest thing he’d ever done but he managed it. 

Slow footsteps (and honestly, slow? Was she trying to kill him?) padded across the floor and he heard the rustle of bedclothes as she pulled them back, the creak of a box spring as she climbed in. Finally, he heard her voice, speaking softly and he heard her smile before he saw it. “Coast is clear.” 

He turned around and it took every second of undercover work he’d ever done to keep his face still. Because he’d seen Ellie dressed up and dressed down, he’d seen her at work and at rest, he’d seen her happy and sad and pissed as hell and everything in between and every time he’d thought of her as nothing less than a knockout. But here like this, not a scrap of makeup on her face, cheeks pink from the heat of the shower, her hair loose with damp tendrils curling along the edge, lying in bed and wearing his shirt?

She was just possibly the best thing he’d ever seen. 

He didn’t let any of that show though. Instead, he gave her a slow smile. “No peeking.” He wasn’t sure if it was a confirmation or a teasing order but she grinned and rolled her eyes, left him in no doubt as to her interpretation. 

“I’ll try to control myself.” 

The better part of valour being discretion, Nick bit back his response, instead pulling some clothes from his bag and heading into the bathroom. Ellie had left him plenty of hot water - although he did momentarily debate the benefits of cold, or at the very least lukewarm - and he took his time, letting the water sluice over him, closing his eyes and ducking his face under the spray. The clean white cotton t-shirt felt great against his skin when he was finished, so too did the fresh boxer shorts but while he did think about it, he decided that, no matter how uncomfortable it might make them both, there was no way he could face pulling on those jeans again. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door a crack, shivering as the damp heat of the bathroom hit the cooler air of the room - clearly central heating was not a priority in this place. 

“I’m coming out,” he told her. “Avert your eyes. Or not, it's your call...” 

There was no response and when he poked his head out, he understood why. 

Ellie had fallen asleep with the television still on, her body in some awkward position between sitting up straight and slumping to the side. Her eyelids didn’t even flutter as he said her name and he couldn’t help it, he found himself smiling as he made his way towards the bed, dropping his jeans on top of his bag as he passed it. Rescuing a can of soda from a possibly early death, he put it and the bag of chips she’d been snacking from on the bedside cabinet, came around to the other side of the bed and climbed on top. She didn’t stir when the bed dipped under his weight, only when he tugged at her pillow, trying to move it down, and her with it. She made a little noise deep in the back of her throat, her lips pursing in an adorable pout and Nick didn’t try to keep his smile out of his voice. “Come on, down you go... you won’t be comfortable sleeping like that...” There was another little noise, this one almost a whimper, but she moved with him without opening her eyes and he got her lying down, pulled the covers up to her shoulders without peeking even a tiny bit. 

The only time he gave into temptation was when he climbed under the covers beside her, turned to face her. Lying on her side, some of her hair had fallen into her face and he reached out slowly, carefully, to tuck it back behind her ear. His fingers lingered on the skin of her cheek perhaps a little longer than they should have but she didn’t stir. Instead, her lips curled up in a smile and he found himself smiling back. 

“Sweet dreams, Ellie,” he whispered before he turned out the light and it wasn’t long before he joined her in slumber. 

He made sure, because he was a gentleman, or at least a man who was behaving himself, that he left a substantial tract of space between them. Seriously, they could have easily fit McGee in between them, that was how big of a gap there was between them, Ellie having fallen asleep near the edge of the bed and Nick following suit. When he woke up the next morning, however, things had changed. His first inkling if that was when he began to wake up slowly, became aware of a warm weight pressed against the length of his body. A warm weight that was shifting and moving, possibly what had woken him in the first place as strands of hair tickled his nose. He frowned as he blinked his eyes open, realising very quickly that if he was no longer on the edge of the bed, then neither was Ellie. Instead he was lying on his back, her head nestled on his chest, just under his chin. One of her arms was tucked underneath her, the other thrown across his body and both his arms were around her waist, cradling her as she slept. 

And he knew. He knew he should move away, without waking her if at all possible. But the hand that was across his body was fisted in his t-shirt and, thankfully, both his hands were solidly above the t-shirt she was wearing, well away from any inappropriate areas. The bed was warm and cosy and surprisingly comfortable for a cheap motel and he was comfortable in it, like this, with her. A squint in the direction of the flimsy curtains told him that it was barely light outside so Nick didn’t feel at all bad about the choice he made, the one to tighten his grip and close his eyes and go back to sleep. 

It wasn’t a deep sleep, more of a light doze, which meant that he quickly became aware of Ellie waking up. He couldn’t miss it, actually, because of the way she shifted against him, nuzzled her face into his chest so that her hair tickled his chin, her fingers flexing in the soft cotton of his t-shirt. Not two seconds later, she stiffened in his arms and he didn’t have to open his eyes or see her face to guess what she was thinking. He counted to ten in his head to see if she would move away, either slowly or with a large jump but she didn’t, just stayed frozen against him, tension thrumming through her body like a wire. 

He opened one eye and looked down at her and sure enough, there was the expression of mild shock and panic that he’d expected to see. “Relax, Bishop,” he mumbled, closing his eye again and keeping his voice as light and teasing as he possibly could when his heart was threatening to beat out of his chest. They were right on the edge of a line, he knew, either at the start of something brand new or about to ruin their friendship beyond all repair. Either way, he figured humour was the best place to start. “Who could blame you for wanting to get as close to this body as you possibly could?” 

The silence that followed seemed to last for ages, though he only counted to four before he felt her relax a little, felt her smile as she laid her head back down against his chest. “It’s not my fault,” she objected and she actually pressed herself closer against him as he felt a shiver run the length of her body. “You’re so warm.” 

Ah. It made sense they’d gravitated to each other then, the room not being too warm, preserve body heat and all that. Still, Nick went with the obvious retort. “What, is that your way of telling me you think I’m hot?” As he spoke, he lifted one hand from around her waist, brought it up to begin playing with the strands of hair at the crown of her head. 

In doing so, he was pretty sure he’d just jumped off the edge of the aforementioned cliff, but he didn’t care. Not here, not like this. 

And she didn’t seem to either, not if the way she leaned into his touch was anything to go by. Certainly not with the noise she made, which was the nearest thing to a god-damned purr he’d ever heard in his life. 

Chancing his arm, he opened his eyes, looked down at her and what he saw there was so far beyond his wildest dreams that he was tempted to pinch himself to check that he wasn’t dreaming all this. Eyes closed, Ellie was wearing a smile that made her look like the cat that got the cream and, as he stared at her, she sighed a sigh that was one of pure contentment. 

Nick knew right then and there that he could get used to that sight, this feeling. 

Very slowly, afraid of breaking the spell, he lifted his other hand and brought it to her cheek just as he’d done while she slept the previous night. His index finger traced a path down her cheek and she shivered again, her long eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks as she opened her eyes with what looked like great difficulty. “Hey,” he whispered as he looked into her eyes and her smile faded as she seemed to have difficulty deciding whether she should be looking at his eyes or his lips. 

Nick wasn’t sure if he was the one who leaned down, or if she was the one who leaned up, but somehow, miraculously, their lips were barely an inch apart. “This ok?” he whispered because no matter what his heart might be screaming, his head knew there were at least a dozen reasons why this should not, under any circumstances, be ok. 

But Ellie didn’t answer him. 

Not in words anyway. 

The kiss was nothing like the ones they’d shared when they were undercover as Charlie and Luis. Those had been all for show and no matter how passionate, there had been no real emotion behind them, even if they had been hot enough to send Nick reeling more than once. 

This though? Kissing Ellie for real when she wanted him to kiss her? When her fingers were sliding up his back, rucking up his t-shirt, when his fingers were playing with her hair, moving down to caress the skin of her hip where her shirt - his shirt - had ridden up? When her lips were moving slowly against his, when her soft breaths and sighs filled his ears? 

Nick could do this - just this - all day every day for the rest of his life and never get tired of it. 

Of course, the moment that he thought that was the exact moment that his cell phone rang. 

And not just any ring tone, oh no. This was the specific ring tone he’d programmed in especially to alert him that Gibbs was on the line. It wasn’t a million miles away from his usual ring tone, just a subtle difference but he recognised it immediately and, after months of working with him, Ellie did too. 

They drew apart as slowly as they’d been kissing and he didn’t take his eyes off hers as he reached behind him, groped blindly for his phone. When he found it, he pressed the screen to take the call, still holding Ellie with his other arm. “Good morning, Gibbs,” he said. 

“Torres, where are you and Bishop? You on the road yet?” 

Ellie rolled over and reached for her phone, held it up to Nick with a guilty expression on her face. Which he figured had nothing to do with their current location and everything to do with the time displayed. “Just about ready to head out now.” The lie tripped easily off his tongue. “Should be with you in a couple of hours.” 

“Step on it, Torres.” The order was pure Gibbs, crisp and to the point. “Evidence won’t investigate itself.” 

Nick didn’t even get to say goodbye before Gibbs hung up the phone but he did make sure that the call was properly disconnected before he tossed the phone down onto the bed. No point taking chances after all. Looking back at Ellie, he noticed that although her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright, her bottom lip was caught squarely between her teeth. 

He knew that look. Didn’t like it much. 

Gently he reached out and pulled her lip free, gave her a quick kiss for good measure. “We should get going,” he said. “You want first shower again?” 

Ellie blinked, like she wasn’t expecting that. “Ok. Sure.” 

“Of course, we could shower together to save time...” He was kidding but she didn’t seem to get that at first because her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped and it was only when he laughed that she visibly relaxed and grinned too. “I’m just kidding,” he told her though he knew she’d already worked that out. “We have plenty of time to work up to that.” A pause, one where he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. “Don’t we?” 

It might just have been the most important question he’d ever asked her and the answer seemed to take a long time to come. 

But when it did, it came with a smile so sweet that it made Nick want to smile right back. “Yeah... we do.” 

He grinned, pushed his luck one more time. “So when we get back, assuming we don’t get caught pulling an all-nighter... can I take you out for dinner?” 

Ellie squinted, tilted her head thoughtfully. “Not just chips and soda?” she quipped and he laughed at that, pulled her close. 

“I can do way better than that,” he promised and he kissed her again, already thinking of ways that he could keep his word.


End file.
